Robert Lehrman
Encyclopedia
Robert A. Lehrman is an American novelist, commentator, speechwriter
, Democratic aide, and teacher
.
Former White House Chief Speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore (1993-95), Lehrman has written six books including several award-winning novels, and thousands of speeches for Democratic politicians, corporate and nonprofit CEOs, and celebrities. He is perhaps best known for his non-fiction book, The Political Speechwriter’s Companion: A Guide for Writers and Speakers, a systematic look at the techniques and strategies of modern political speech.
, Christian Science Monitor and other periodicals.
A long-time Adjunct Professor at American University
, Lehrman teaches public speaking and created AU’s course on political speechwriting which he co-teaches with Professor Eric Schnure. Along with American University Professor Leonard Steinhorn
, he co-founded the commentary site, PunditWire
.
In 2010, American University named Lehrman its Adjunct Professor of the Year, one of only 5 all-university awards given by the school.
Lehrman graduated from Tufts University
, and received an MFA from the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop, where he studied with Richard Yates
and Kurt Vonnegut
. After Iowa he taught at Muscatine (IA) Community College. He then worked as a campaign organizer and later speechwriter for Governor Dan Walker
(D-IL).
He also worked as a speechwriter for Governor Hugh Carey (D-NY)
, then for the CEO and other officers of Texaco before moving to Washington DC where he worked for Senator Lloyd Bentsen
, and Majority Whips William H. Gray and David Bonior
before moving to the White House where he wrote over 250 speeches for Gore and edited about the same number, before beginning his own business, Lehrman Communications, in 1996.
The book has won praise from a wide and bipartisan assortment of politicians, journalists, and academics, including former Republican Senator from Maine William Cohen, who said of the book, said, “what Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style
is to the written word, Bob Lehrman’s book is to the spoken one.”
From 1980 through 1993 Lehrman also wrote 4 novels, three for young adults and one for grownups. Those include:
Other publication by Lehrman include articles, reviews, and short stories under own name in a wide range of publications—the New York Times, WomenSports, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
, Illinois Times
, Public Relations Journal
, Transatlantic Review
, Louisville Review, Tufts Magazine and many others. Documentary scripts include Bradley Whitford
's narration for Alliance for Justice
award-winning 2007 film, Quiet Revolution.
Friends, Romans, Countrymen (Tufts Magazine cover story, Summer 2010)
Richard Yates Remembered (From The Workshop: Seven Decades of the Iowa Writers' Workshop
(Hyperion, 1999))
Speechwriter
A speechwriter is a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches that will be delivered by another person. Speechwriters are used by many senior-level elected officials and executives in the government and private sectors.-Skills and training:...
, Democratic aide, and teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
.
Former White House Chief Speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore (1993-95), Lehrman has written six books including several award-winning novels, and thousands of speeches for Democratic politicians, corporate and nonprofit CEOs, and celebrities. He is perhaps best known for his non-fiction book, The Political Speechwriter’s Companion: A Guide for Writers and Speakers, a systematic look at the techniques and strategies of modern political speech.
Professional Background
Lehrman frequently writes and speaks about politics and speech. He is a contributor to AOLNews, and has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, PoliticoPolitico (newspaper)
The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...
, Christian Science Monitor and other periodicals.
A long-time Adjunct Professor at American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
, Lehrman teaches public speaking and created AU’s course on political speechwriting which he co-teaches with Professor Eric Schnure. Along with American University Professor Leonard Steinhorn
Leonard Steinhorn
Leonard Steinhorn is an American author, specialist in American politics and culture, and professor of communication at American University....
, he co-founded the commentary site, PunditWire
PunditWire
PunditWire is a news commentary site featuring contributors from across the political spectrum who are all current or former political speechwriters. Launched on September 13, 2010, the content on PunditWire varies in scope - from foreign policy to campaigns and elections to civil rights and...
.
In 2010, American University named Lehrman its Adjunct Professor of the Year, one of only 5 all-university awards given by the school.
Lehrman graduated from Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
, and received an MFA from the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop, where he studied with Richard Yates
Richard Yates (novelist)
Richard Yates was an American novelist and short story writer, known for his exploration of mid-20th century life.-Life:...
and Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
. After Iowa he taught at Muscatine (IA) Community College. He then worked as a campaign organizer and later speechwriter for Governor Dan Walker
Daniel Walker
Daniel Walker was the 36th Governor of the U.S. state of Illinois from 1973 to 1977.-Early life and career:He was born in Washington, D.C. and raised near San Diego, California. He was the second Governor of Illinois to graduate from the United States Naval Academy. He served as a naval officer in...
(D-IL).
He also worked as a speechwriter for Governor Hugh Carey (D-NY)
Hugh Carey
Hugh Leo Carey was an American attorney, the 51st Governor of New York from 1975 to 1982, and a seven-term United States Representative .- Early life :...
, then for the CEO and other officers of Texaco before moving to Washington DC where he worked for Senator Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. was a four-term United States senator from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate...
, and Majority Whips William H. Gray and David Bonior
David E. Bonior
David Edward Bonior is an American politician from the US state of Michigan. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, Bonior served as Democratic whip in the House from 1991 to 2002, during which time Democrats were in both the majority and minority , making Bonior the third...
before moving to the White House where he wrote over 250 speeches for Gore and edited about the same number, before beginning his own business, Lehrman Communications, in 1996.
Works
Lehrman’s most recent book, The Political Speechwriter’s Companion (CQPress 2009), draws on almost two hundred examples taken mostly from American political speeches to demonstrate how one structure and what he calls the LAWS of political speech – language, anecdote, wit, and support – can be effective in almost any political setting. In chapters that include speeches and excerpts annotated to show how each technique works, Lehrman analyzes how to be effective, whether on the stump, on the floor, or in ceremonial speeches ranging from commencements to eulogies to keynotes. He presents an original way to close speeches that has been compared to what Alan Monroe did for the motivated sequence.The book has won praise from a wide and bipartisan assortment of politicians, journalists, and academics, including former Republican Senator from Maine William Cohen, who said of the book, said, “what Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style
The Elements of Style
The Elements of Style , also known as Strunk & White, by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White, is a prescriptive American English writing style guide comprising eight "elementary rules of usage", ten "elementary principles of composition", "a few matters of form", a list of forty-nine "words and...
is to the written word, Bob Lehrman’s book is to the spoken one.”
From 1980 through 1993 Lehrman also wrote 4 novels, three for young adults and one for grownups. Those include:
- Juggling - This novel, set in the 1960s about a high school soccer player and his first romance, became controversial because of its frankness about teenage life, but won wide praise for nuance and authenticity, winning an American Library Association Best Book award, in 1983 and many other honors. In 1987, Ms. Magazine celebrating its 15th Anniversary, named the novel one of “15 Great Books for Teenagers” appearing during the life of the magazine. Jack Forman, in Horn Book, described Juggling and two other novels as exemplifying "the achievements of the best young adult realistic fiction." Chris Crowe's More Than a Game: Sports Literature for Young Adults lists Juggling as one of the "100 best sports novels of all time for young adults.
- Defectors - Set in the 1950s, this novel for adults also featured a sports theme: the narrator is an American miler who befriends a Soviet defector and wrestles with what to do when the United States decides to send the defector back. “Strong first novel … extraordinarily evocative,” said Publisher’s Weekly, while Seven Percent Solution author Nicholas MeyerNicholas MeyerNicholas Meyer is an American screenwriter, producer, director and novelist, known best for his best-selling novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, and for directing the films Time After Time, two of the Star Trek feature film series, and the 1983 television movie The Day After.Meyer graduated from...
wrote, “rich in its exploration of moral complexities, wonderuflly evocative of a time and place.”
- The Store that Mama Built - Based on Lehrman’s own family, this finalist (one of three), for the 1993 National Jewish Book Award for Juvenile Literature tells the story of a Jewish immigrant family struggling to keep their store in business after the father’s death.
- Doing Time, a non-fiction book for young adults which Lehrman co-wrote with Phyllis Elperin Clark, was a Jane Addams Children's Book Award-winner in addition to other honors.
Other publication by Lehrman include articles, reviews, and short stories under own name in a wide range of publications—the New York Times, WomenSports, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
, Illinois Times
Illinois Times
Illinois Times is a weekly free newspaper based in Springfield, Illinois. Founded in 1975, the newspaper was acquired in 1977 by Fletcher Farrar Sr., a Mount Vernon, Ill., businessman who employed his son, Fletcher "Bud" Farrar Jr., as editor. The senior Farrar died in 1995; his son sold the...
, Public Relations Journal
Public relations journal
The Public Relations Journal, published quarterly by the Public Relations Society of America, is an open access peer-reviewed, electronic academic journal covering topics having to do with public relations and communication studies. The editor-in-chief is Donald K. Wright .-History:The Public...
, Transatlantic Review
Transatlantic Review
Transatlantic Review was a literary journal founded and edited by Joseph F. McCrindle in 1959, and published at first in Rome, then London and New York...
, Louisville Review, Tufts Magazine and many others. Documentary scripts include Bradley Whitford
Bradley Whitford
Bradley Whitford is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on the NBC television drama The West Wing, as Danny Tripp on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, as Dan Stark in the Fox police buddy-comedy The Good Guys, as...
's narration for Alliance for Justice
Alliance for Justice
Alliance for Justice is a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women's, children's and consumer advocacy organizations in the USA....
award-winning 2007 film, Quiet Revolution.
Books
- The Political Speechwriter’s Companion: A Guide for Writers and Speakers CQPress 2009
- The Store That Mama Built (novel) MacMillan 1992
- Separations (novel), Viking 1990; paperback Puffin/Viking 1993
- Defectors (novel), Arbor House/Morrow 1988; Japanese Edition Hayakawa 1990
- Juggling (novel) Harper & Row 1982; paperback Pacer Books 1984
- Doing Time: A Look at Crime and Prisons (co-author, non-fiction) Hastings House 1980
Selected Articles
State of the Union: The crafting of a speech (Christian Science Monitor cover story, January 2011)Friends, Romans, Countrymen (Tufts Magazine cover story, Summer 2010)
Richard Yates Remembered (From The Workshop: Seven Decades of the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
(Hyperion, 1999))